Suspended ceilings



Nov. 7, 1967 E. DALBY SUSPENDED CEILINGS Filed Dec. 21, 1964 United States Patent 3,350,829 SUSPENDED CEILINGS Eric Dalby, 8 ()akrnead Gardens, Edgware, Middlesex, England Filed Dec. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 420,077 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 9, 1964, 14,815/ 64 3 Claims. (Cl. 52-495) This invention comprises improvements in or modifications of ceilings as described and claimed in the specification of my US. Serial No. 206,656 filed July 2, 1962.

In my specification, there is described and claimed a sound-absorbent, suspended ceiling comprising a plurality of springy strips of flat or slightly bowed free transverse section forming the visible surface of the ceiling, the strips being held between support members which are arranged end-to-end in parallel rows the spacing of which is less than the free Width of the strips, and which support members have features defining laterally-facing channels in which the edges of the strips are resiliently engaged, each strip being in a long length, cut off from a roll of such strip so as to extend the full length of the rows of support members with which its edges engage, parallel rows of nails or the like to which the support members are attached to form a stable grid structure, and sound absorbing material spaced above the strips. In the specifically described constructions, the support members are secured to the rails, or like members, by screws, or nuts and bolts, or rivets, or specially formed clips which are located by set screws.

This invention provides a form of connection between the support members and the rails or like members which facilitates assembly and gives rise to economic advantages.

According to this invention, in a ceiling as claimed in my prior specification above mentioned, the support members are arranged for connection to the rails or like members by providing the first members, conveniently the support members, with oppositely-directed resilient flanges which are inclined to give a ridge formation and by providing the other members with notches having sides which converge from their mouths in a manner corresponding to the ridge formation, and also with projections at the mouths of the notches past which the ridge formations must be pressed to enter the notches.

In assembling, the ceiling, the rails or like members are first put into position, and then the support members are located by engaging the ridge formations with the notches simply by pressing the parts together. In the latter operation no rivetting, nor tightening of nuts and bolts, nor insertion of screws, nor attachment of special clips is necessary so that the operation is simple and expeditious.

Some embodiments of this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view,

FIGURES 2 and 3 show connectors for use in the arrangement of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a section on the line 44 of FIGURE 1 but drawn to a larger scale and FIGURES 5 to 7 are alternative forms of rail.

The suspended ceiling illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 4, comprises a plurality of parallel rows of rails d5, each of which rows comprises a number of standard lengths arranged end-to-end and which may be suspended from a roof or like in any convenient way, a plurality of parallel rows of support members 13 which extend at right angles to the rails 15, each such row also comprising a number of support members of standard lengths ar- Patented Nov. 7, 1967 ranged end-to-end, and lengths of springy strip material 10 which form the visible surface of the ceiling.

The strips 10 are conveniently of perforated aluminium or plastics and are, when unassembled, fiat or slightly bowed in section so allowing the strip to be brought on site in rolls containing great lengths from which lengths are cut off to allow the strips to extend right across a dimension of the area covered by the ceiling.

The rails 13 and support members are of extruded metal or plastics material or may be formed from sheet metal or plastics material.

The rows of the support member 13 have a spacing less than the free width of the strips 10 so that the letter when positioned, resiliently engage by their edges channels 14 formed between beads 13c and oppositely directed flanges 13d at the free edges of downwardly depending webs 13b of the support members 13.

In order to allow ready assembly of the support members 13 to the suspended rails 15, the following arrangement may be adopted. The support members 13 are provided at their edges remote from the bead 13c with oppositely-directed resilient flanges 13a which diverge in a direction towards the bead 130 to provide a ridge or arrowhead formation.

The rails 15, which in FIGURES 1 and 4 are of angle section but which may have a section including a circular head 15a at one edge as in FIGURE 5 or a T-section 15b as in FIGURE 6 or a cruciform section as in FIG- URE 7 are found with notches 16 in a flange 15d thereof, the notches having mouths 16b opening to the lower edge of the vertically disposed flanges 15d.

The notches 16 receive the ridge formations 13a and for this purpose have side edges 16a converging in -a direction away from the mouths and also have short projections 16c which restrict the mouths 16b. These projections 16c have a spacing less than the spacing of the free edges of the flanges 13a, so that in order to engage the ridge formations in the notches the flanges 13a must be snapped past the projections. Once in the notches 16, the ridge formations are retained by the edges of the flanges 16a bearing against the projections.

The arrangement of FIGURES 1 to 4 also includes suitably shaped connectors 17 to slide on to aligned ends of the flanges 13a of the ridge formations to assist to maintain the alignment of the support members I13. Likewise the maintenance of the end-to-end alignment of the rails 15 may be assisted by connectors 18.

The grid formed by the rails 15 and support members 13 has a greater or less rigidity depending on whether the spacing of the rows of rails 15 is large or small. If it is desired to reduce the number of suspension points, stiffener bars 20 may be employed which extend across and are firmly attached to the top edges of the rails. In FIGURES 1 and 4, the bars 20 are of channel section and are held in position by stout wire clips 21 which have hooked ends 21a engaging flanges 15d. Alternatively hooked tongues may be struck out of the lower flange of the channel section to engage below the flanges 15d.

The ceiling structure can be rapidly assembled to cover even large areas by relatively unskilled labour. The rails 15, or the stiifener bars 20 if desired, are first suspended from the main ceiling or roof, the support members 13 are snapped into place in the notches 16, and finally the long lengths of strip iii) are resiliently engaged in the grooves.

The grid formed by the rails 15 and support members carries a layer of sound absorbent material (not shown) spaced from the strips 10.

Any strips 10 having an edge against a wall will have this edge engaging channels in support members attached to the wall, or there may be suitable trim strips supported 3 by the rails and extended across the gaps between the wall or the strip 10 nearest to it.

I claim:

1. A ceiling structure comprising (a) a plurality of rail members arranged in parallel rows;

(b) a plurality of elongated support members arranged end to end in parallel rows;

() the rows of support members being disposed substantially at right angles to the rail members;

(d) connections between the support members and rail members at the locations where they cross so that the members form a grid structure;

(e) each said connection comprising a web on one member having at one longitudinal edge thereof a pair of oppositely directed resilient flanges extending outwardly from the web and terminating in a plane which intersects the web intermediate of the longitudinal edges of the web;

(f) the other member being formed, at the locations where the members cross, with notches having sides which converge from their mouths and which correspond in size and shape with the outer contour of said resilient flanges;

(g) there being provided at the mouths of the notches projections past which the flanges must be snapped in order to enter the notches;

(h) each said support member having a flange projecting downwardly below the rail members, said flange having at its lower edge features defining on each face thereof a laterally facing channel;

(i) a plurality of visible-surface-forming strips, each said strip extending along the length of, and being held in a bowed condition between the flanges of an adjacent pair of the rows of support members by having its edges resiliently engaged in the laterally facing channels of said members.

2. A ceiling structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rail members have downwardly-depending flanges having said notches for-med therein with the months in the lower edges of these flanges, and said oppositely directed flanges are at upper edges of the support members and diverging downwardlyv 3. A suspended ceiling comprising a plurality of rails arranged in parallel rows, each row containing a number of rails in end-to-end alignment, a plurality of support members arranged end-to-end in parallel rows, the rows of support members and the rows of rails having co-operating and interlocking portions holding the support members substantially at right angles to the rails, the rails and support members thereby forming a grid structure, each said support member having a flange projecting downwardly below the rails, said flange having at its lower edge features defining on each face thereof a laterally facing channel, a plurality of visible-surface-forming strips, each said strip being perforated and resilient and each said strip extending along the length of and being held in a bowed condition between the flanges of an adjacent pair of the rows of the support members by having its edges resiliently engaged in the facing channels of said flanges, said co-operating and interlocking portions of the rails and the support members comprising oppositely-directed resilient flanges which are inclined to one another in a ridge formation, notches of corresponding shape receiving the ridge formations, and spaced flange-retaining projections restricting the mouths of the notches, said projections having a spacing less than that of the edges of the resilient flanges, said rails having downwardlydepending flanges having said notches formed therein with the months in the lower edges of these flanges, and said oppositely-directed resilient flanges being at upper edges of the support members and diverging downwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,939,809 2/1930 Gorm an 52-466 2,013,762 12/1929 Olsen 52495 2,822,584 10/1950 Urbain 52-484 3,139,162 7/1960 Spangenberg 52-495 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner;

JAMES L. RIDGILL, JR., Examiner. 

1. A CEILING STRUCTURE COMPRISING (A) A PLURALITY OF RAIL MEMBERS ARRANGED IN PARALLEL ROWS; (B) A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED SUPPORT MEMBERS ARRANGED END TO END IN PARALLEL ROWS; (C) THE ROWS OF SUPPORT MEMBERS BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE RAIL MEMBERS; (D) CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SUPPORT MEMBERS AND RAIL MEMBERS AT THE LOCATIONS WHERE THEY CROSS SO THAT THE MEMBERS FORM A GRID STRUCTURE; (E) EACH SAID CONNECTION COMPRISING A WEB ON ONE MEMBER HAVING AT ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE THEREOF A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY DIRECTED RESILIENT FLANGES EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE WEB AND TERMINATING IN A PLANE WHICH INTERSECTS THE WEB INTERMEDIATE OF THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF THE WEB; (F) THE OTHER MEMBER BEING FORMED, AT THE LOCATIONS WHERE THE MEMBERS CROSS, WITH NOTCHES HAVING SIDES WHICH CONVERGE FROM THEIR MOUTHS AND WHICH CORRESPOND IN SIZE AND SHAPE WITH THE OTHER CONTOUR OF SAID RESILIENT FLANGES; (G) THERE BEING PROVIDED AT THE MOUTHS OF THE NOTCHES PROJECTIONS PAST WHICH THE FLANGES MUST BE SNAPPED IN ORDER TO ENTER THE NOTCHES; (H) EACH SAID SUPPORT MEMBER HAVING A FLANGE PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY BELOW THE RAIL MEMBERS, SAID FLANGE HAVING AT ITS LOWER EDGE FEATURES DEFINING ON EACH FACE THEREOF A LATERALLY FACING CHANNEL; (I) A PLURALITY OF VISIBLE-SURFACE-FORMING STRIPS, EACH SAID STRIP EXTENDING ALONG THE LENGTH OF, AND BEING HELD IN A BOWED CONDITION BETWEEN THE FLANGES OF AN ADJACENT PAIR OF THE ROWS OF SUPPORT MEMBERS BY HAVING ITS EDGES RESILIENTLY ENGAGED IN THE LATERALLY FACING CHANNELS OF SAID MEMBERS. 